"The State of Israel ... will ensure complete equality of social and political
rights of all its inhabitants irrespective of religion ... it will guarantee freedom
of religion and conscience." - May 1948)

Hiddush News, July-September 2015

A statistical survey conducted by Smith Consulting Co. for Hiddush has revealed the changes in the distribution of Israeli Jewish citizens according to the different religious denominations they identify with.

Hiddush, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that advances “religious freedom and equality,” just published its 2015 Religion & State Index. It is an interesting survey, and the organization deserves credit for it.

A statistical survey conducted by Smith Consulting Co. for Hiddush has revealed the changes in the distribution of Israeli Jewish citizens according to the different religious denominations they identify with.

The newest battle with Israel’s Chief Rabbinate over Jewish identity, in which a number of Modern Orthodox rabbis have come together to form conversion courts outside the state-approved framework, is in one sense merely the latest chapter in an ongoing saga.

“What we're seeing in Jerusalem is part of a national battle over the public domain and who owns it,” said Uri Regev, president of Hiddush, which promotes freedom of religion in Israel. “How does Israel balance between a Jewish state, a democratic state and a state for all its citizens?”